20 Jan 2023
TM R&D inks MoU with ZTE to collaborate on optical network research, bringing the first 50gbps bandwidth experience to Malaysia
Telekom Research & Development Sdn Bhd (TM R&D), the innovation arm of Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM), recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with ZTE (Malaysia) Corporation Sdn Bhd (ZTE), a global leading provider of information and communication technology solutions, to collaborate on optical network research, bringing the first 50Gbps bandwidth experience to Malaysia.
The MoU was signed by Dr Sharlene Thiagarajah, Chief Executive Officer, TM R&D and Steven Ge, Chief Executive Officer, ZTE Malaysia.
Under this agreement, TM R&D and ZTE will jointly explore the capabilities of next-generation Passive Optical Network (PON) access technology, 50GPON, to support various application scenarios. In addition, both entities will look into use cases that can deliver ultra-broadband access to the government, enterprise and consumers, as well as support the requirements of innovative services such as 5G, Cloud Virtual Reality (VR), industrial intelligent manufacturing for high bandwidth, low latency & jitter, and clock synchronisation, all of which will enhance the user experience in Malaysia.
Commenting on the MoU, Dr. Sharlene Thiagarajah, Chief Executive Officer, TM R&D said, “TM R&D is committed to conducting research on future technologies and innovating new value-added smarter eco-systems that will improve the quality of user experience, and ultimately bring a positive impact on their lives. This fits well into the TM Group’s transformation towards becoming a human-centred TechCo. We are very excited to partner with a renowned global player such as ZTE to innovate on future generation PON technology in line with the global trend and technology roadmap.”
Meanwhile, Steven Ge, Chief Executive Officer, ZTE Malaysia shared, “With Gigabit home broadband services widely used in Malaysia at present, and the basic fixed network is in the time window of evolution from GPON to 10G PON, this partnership could not have come at a better time.”
“ZTE is pleased with the opportunity to collaborate with TM R&D on future research in next-generation PON technology supporting Digital Malaysia,” he added.
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TM AND SINGTEL’S NXERA FORM JOINT VENTURE TO DEVELOP NEXT-GENERATION DATA CENTRES
KUALA LUMPUR, SINGAPORE, 18 JUNE 2024 – TM is partnering Nxera, the regional data centre arm of Singtel’s Digital InfraCo unit, in a joint venture to develop data centres in Malaysia starting with a sustainable, hyper-connected AI-ready data centre campus in Johor. This strategic partnership aims to serve the needs of hyperscalers, next-generation AI application providers and enterprises pursuing accelerated digitalisation and cloud in the region. The joint venture is a unique proposition, bolstered by the extensive subsea cable networks of TM and Singtel’s Digital InfraCo which provide global connectivity and enhanced network performance with lower latency and improved reliability. Amar Huzaimi Md Deris, TM’s Group Chief Executive Officer, said, "Establishing a hyper-connected AI-ready data centre marks the next phase in our long-standing partnership with Singtel, leveraging our strengths and commitment to elevate ASEAN as the preferred digital hub destination. TM brings the largest domestic network infrastructure, extensive international subsea cable systems and the largest interconnected DC in Malaysia, a solid backbone for this project. This will serve as a catalyst for high performance computing and lay a solid foundation for the future advancement of cloud and AI applications. This collaboration of two main telcos in the region is unique and has positive impact to the development of digital ecosystem that not only benefit the businesses but also nurturing future talent. Through this partnership, TM continues to demonstrate its dedication to delivering innovative and sustainable solutions, marking a pivotal step in our aspiration to becoming a Digital Powerhouse by 2030.” Bill Chang, CEO of Nxera and Singtel's Digital InfraCo unit, said, "We are excited to enter the Malaysian market with TM as our strategic partner. This collaboration advances our vision to be the region’s leading sustainable, hyperconnected AI-ready data centre platform, supporting businesses with the digital infrastructure needed for the growing demand for cloud, digitalisation and AI. The development of this first data centre campus in Johor, which can be expanded in phases, demonstrates our ability to scale quickly in markets that are important to our customers. With our joint industry expertise and strong track record, we will build and operate one of the most efficient, sustainable and connectivity-rich data centres in Malaysia. In addition to data centres, we will be expanding the submarine cable connectivity between Singapore and Johor to enhance digital connectivity. Our joint venture will also partner institutes of higher learning in Malaysia to nurture talent for our projects and the industry. Our strategy of developing data centre sites with close proximity to our operations in Singapore allow us to capture spill-over demand from our customers and help them scale their business with confidence.” Located in Iskandar Puteri, just 16 km from Singapore, the data centre campus will be the largest to date for both TM and Nxera. It will be built to the latest standards for reliability, security and sustainability while offering the best local and international connectivity. With its close proximity to subsea cable links between Singapore and Malaysia, the data centre will be well-placed to support the increasing demand from both countries’ digitalisation and development initiatives. The initial phase of the data centre is planned for 64MW and can be scaled up to 200MW in response to market demand. This high-power density campus will be able to host large computing and AI capabilities such as requirements by cloud hyperscalers, GPU-as-a-Service providers and features advanced technologies such as liquid cooling to support high-power density workloads and operations efficiently. The data centre will be a LEED-certified (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) green building, emphasising its commitment to greater energy efficiency and sustainable practices. As Malaysia’s integrated telco and technology leader, TM will contribute its expertise in the region’s network infrastructure deployment to deliver customised range of wholesale data, connectivity, data centre and platform solutions catering to both local and international needs. Additionally, TM also provides Cloud services via its sovereign Cloud Alpha Edge solution. TM currently operates seven data centres across Malaysia with 2 core data centres located in Klang Valley and Johor. Its entry into the Asia Link Cable Systems (ALC) partnership facilitates the laying of a submarine cable system spanning approximately 7,200km, with an initial design capacity of 24 Terabits/sec. Coupled with the establishment of an international Cable Landing Station at TM Exchange Kuala Sedili, Johor, these serve as vital infrastructure enhancements to accelerate the growth of the data centre industry in the state. Nxera is a rapidly growing regional platform backed by Singtel and leading global investment firm KKR, leveraging its data centre operations in Singapore to expand overseas. Customers can also tap into a host of services such as Singtel’s Paragon cloud orchestration platform and upcoming GPU-as-a-Service. They will be able to orchestrate their AI workloads in a multi-network and multi-cloud environment, serving as a catalyst for greater innovation, entrepreneurship and business excellence. Nxera is developing three new AI-ready data centres in the region in addition to 62MW of existing capacity in Singapore. This includes a new 58MW data centre in Tuas, Singapore and data centres with partners in Indonesia and Thailand. Nxera’s total pipeline capacity is set to increase from its current operational capacity of 62MW in Singapore to more than 200MW in the region in the next three years. The data centres will be served by Digital InfraCo's comprehensive network of subsea fibre-optic cables which provide customers with the best country-to-country connectivity in the Asia Pacific region.
Unifi TV kickstarts 2023 offerings with addition of popular beIN SPORTS 2, Moonbug Kids and one premium channels
Unifi, a leader in converged home, mobile and lifestyle services via its digital content arm, Unifi TV, today announced three new premium channels via partnerships with leading content providers – beIN Asia Pacific; Moonbug Entertainment, a subsidiary of Candle Media; and Korea’s KC Global Media. Starting February 2023, viewers will be able to enjoy these popular channels via their Unifi TV subscriptions: beIN SPORTS 2 – featuring top-tier European football, international tennis competitions and most recently, full Formula 1 coverage; Moonbug Kids – designed for families with pre-school children; and ONE – for fans of the latest Korean drama and entertainment. Two of the three new channels, Moonbug Kids and ONE will also be available for free preview throughout the whole of February for both existing and new Unifi TV subscribers. This brings Unifi TV’s channel offerings to a whopping 71 premium channels, along with 17 app partners including Disney+ Hotstar, Viu, WeTV and Lionsgate Play – the largest selection of streaming apps over a single platform. Ho Hock Doong, Head of Content, Unifi TV said, “We are excited to partner beIN Asia Pacific, Moonbug Entertainment, and KC Global Media in bringing their popular channels to Unifi TV and to provide more quality offerings to our local audiences. “At the end of 2022, Digital Market Insights projected that Malaysia’s Home Entertainment revenue was expected to reach an annual growth rate (CAGR 2022-2027) of 8.36%, with a projected market volume of US$48.57 million and 1.1 million active users by 2027. “With these prospects in mind, we are strengthening our partnerships with leading global content providers to offer an inclusive selection of digital entertainment solutions – bringing Unifi’s ‘all-in-one’ value proposition to all audiences,” he added. beIN SPORTS 2 will join the line-up of three existing beIN SPORTS channels as well as the beIN SPORTS CONNECT app already available on Unifi TV, offering the widest live sports coverage from beIN SPORTS in Malaysia. In addition to the Formula 1 broadcast rights which will be extended to Unifi TV viewers, the channel will also include the Australian Open, ATP and the upcoming Roland-Garros. Mike Kerr, Managing Director, beIN Asia Pacific, said, “As we continue to expand and strengthen our sports offering, we are excited to enter into the next phase of partnership with Unifi TV. Now with Formula 1, fans can immerse themselves in more live coverage than ever before on beIN SPORTS. We look forward to working alongside Unifi TV to grow our audiences in Malaysia.” Putting families in the forefront, Moonbug Kids on Unifi TV will feature all of Moonbug’s IPs including CoComelon, Blippi, Gecko’s Garage, Morphle, Arpo, Little Baby Bum and recent acquisitions Little Angel and Oddbods – offering wholesome and quality entertainment for preschool and early-years viewers. Unifi TV is also the first digital content platform in Malaysia to offer selected Moonbug Kids programmes on demand that are localised in Bahasa Melayu and Mandarin – bringing these edutainment programmes to more of Malaysia’s multi-lingual audiences. “We are extremely excited to launch our Moonbug Kids channel on Unifi TV via their on-air and online platforms. We have had a strong start to 2023 in maintaining our strategy of rolling out our content and channels across APAC and EMEA and are now very much looking forward to sharing our beloved characters and stories with families across Malaysia,” said Nicolas Eglau, Managing Director EMEA & APAC, Moonbug Entertainment. Leading K-entertainment channel, ONE, on the other hand, will bring the best of Korean entertainment to Malaysia. The channel will feature drama series Kokdu: Season of Deity within 24 hours of release in Korea and a line-up of romantic specials in February such as Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo and Backstreet Rookie. Fans of travel variety shows will also be treated to Dopojarak: Story of Homme the K-Wanderer, featuring personalities from K-pop, K-drama, fashion and sports. George Chien, Co-Founder, President, and CEO of KC Global Media shared, “We are excited to enhance our partnership with Unifi TV to bring the best entertainment from around the world to every household and mobile device in Malaysia! With the addition of ONE channel on Unifi TV, fans can look forward to an endless stream of freshly curated programming direct from South Korea’s biggest broadcasters and studios.” “These channels are quality additions to our platform and will strengthen our lifestyle offerings as part of Unifi’s Converged solutions for broadband, mobile and digital content. Our aim is to provide seamless customer experiences via extensive and affordable services that meet today’s digital demands, including online entertainment both at home and on-the-go,” Ho shared. “As we kick off 2023, we aim to continue expanding our digital content, providing more customisable, value-for-money selections together with Unifi’s other converged solutions to bring something for everyone,” he concluded.
TM & Astro collaborate to deliver high quality digital experience
TM provides Astro with full suite of wholesale infrastructure and connectivity solutions to enable Astro to serve its customers with reliable broadband and content services. Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM) and Astro Malaysia Holdings Berhad’s wholly-owned subsidiary, MEASAT Broadcast Network Systems Sdn Bhd (Astro) today inked deals to collaborate in delivering a high quality digital experience to all Malaysians. The collaboration also signifies both companies' commitment to support the “Jalinan Digital Negara” (JENDELA) initiative in providing wider broadband coverage and a better experience nationwide. The agreements were signed by Imri Mokhtar, Group Chief Executive Officer of TM and Amar Huzaimi Md Deris, Executive Vice President, TM WHOLESALE while Astro was represented by Henry Tan, Group Chief Executive Officer and Shafiq Abdul Jabbar, Group Chief Financial Officer. Through this strategic collaboration, TM, via TM WHOLESALE, its global and wholesale business arm, will provide Astro with a full suite of infrastructure and connectivity solutions that comprises the whole range of wholesale services inclusive of high speed broadband (HSBB), bandwidth, backhaul and Internet access. This extensive and robust fibre network infrastructure will enable TM together with Astro to provide high-quality and reliable connectivity to their end-users. With TM’s HSBB service, Astro also will be able to provide broadband services to its customers without having the need to build a new infrastructure while extending its coverage to wider areas across the country via a fibre network. As for Internet services, TM’s internet access solution will enable Astro to offer high performance internet connectivity and a comprehensive solution to its customers. To complete the services, TM will also provide Astro with its Content Delivery Network (TM CDN), a newly developed content platform service that delivers seamless, faster and secure digital content. This will enable Astro to strengthen its video streaming efficiency to its current service offerings. Commenting on the collaboration, Imri said: “TM as the leading infrastructure partner for High Speed Broadband wholesale services, leveraged its superior network nationwide to support the industry’s broadband growth. We are also the primary mobile backhaul infrastructure provider for the industry with extensive coverage and capacity. As the digital infrastructure accelerator in Malaysia, we have always been a strong advocate of infrastructure sharing. Thus we are honoured to be given this opportunity to leverage each other’s expertise to provide Malaysians with high quality broadband and content services that we have. This strategic collaboration also demonstrates our commitment to ensure Malaysians are provided with a seamless and “always-on” connectivity experience. We are happy to work with Astro and this is yet another testament to our pivotal role as the enabler of Digital Malaysia aspirations.” Meanwhile, Henry Tan said: “This strategic partnership with TM lays the foundation for Astro to be an internet service provider. Astro’s goal is to provide Malaysians with the best digital experience and broadband value proposition. Leveraging on the strength of TM’s wide HSBB network will enable Astro to realise new revenue streams, scaling our broadband service with content bundles, or standalone broadband and other product lines. This deal gives us more flexibility to offer great value and convenience to our customers.”
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